health & wellness » More Than Just A Broken Arm I was 12 years old the first time I has progressed and become a passion, broke my arm. The next school I am becoming more comfortable day, I walked into class and all of telling my story, asking others theirs, my friends ran over to sign my bright facilitating small group discussions orange cast, ask how I was doing and talking about internal pain. and reassure me that they were there But sadly, I am in the minority. Far should I need anything. too many students experience I was 13 years old when I isolation as part of and as a was officially diagnosed with result of their internal pain, an extreme case of anxiety having nobody who will run disorder. Nobody ran over over to offer a helping hand. to ask how was I doing or to If we can create a campus reassure me they were there community that fosters accep- should I need anything. It tance and understanding of all was not something people forms of illness and encourages Sierra Stone students to discuss issues that openly talked about. Commentary I was 18 years old and in cover all aspects of the mental I was comfortable talking about any visible pain I was feeling on the outside. I was not comfortable talking about the invisible pain I was feeling on the inside the middle of my freshman year of col- lege the second time I broke my arm. I walked into my sociology discussion the next day and several students ran over to ask how I was doing and reas- sure me they were there should I need anything. Around that same time, my anxiety was growing day by day and I couldn’t have been more unhappy. I felt iso- lated, alone and sad. Nobody was asking me how I was doing or reassur- ing me they were there should I need anything. It was not something people openly talked about. I was comfortable talking about any visible pain I was feeling on the outside. I was not comfortable talking about the invisible pain I was feeling on the inside. I felt ashamed, embar- rassed and disgraced. This stigma, the stigma about men- tal health, plays a negative role in my life and in the lives of far too many college students and others — even from a young age. Only recently has the discussion of mental health and wellness become something we talk about openly. As I have continued through col- lege and my work with mental health advocacy, as an incoming Wolverine Support Network director and Central Student Government representative, 42 March 31 • 2016 health spectrum, then maybe — just maybe — one fewer college student will become a statistic. I believe that we need to have open discussion and dialogue about mental health through this aforementioned mutual understanding. Thanks to the Internet and social media outlets, our generation, unlike any other before us, has access to the world. We have the platform and an audience at our fingertips to speak with about issues that formerly were not openly talked about. Because of this advantage, we should make it our mission to take the endless resources available to us and work to shatter this stigma. It is our duty to be the change, to take a stand and to continue to write the stories of those who are affected by mental health disorders, because fail- ure to do so could be putting people’s lives on the line. Let’s start treating mental health like we treat a bright orange cast on the arm of a 12-year-old. If not now, when? If not us, who? * Sierra Stone of West Bloomfield is a Wolverine Support Network director and Central Student Government representative at the University of Michigan. This essay first appeared on the Michigan Daily website.